Scan barcode
rylanobrien's review
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
embreads98's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I have some complaints about this book.
1) sooo much Covid/2020 election talk. Way too soon for me, if I had known I wouldn’t have picked up this book.
2) white men probably shouldn’t write from the perspective of people of color. There’s a scene where a Black activist thinks about his white friend, a man who does the bare minimum to soothe his white guilt, and concludes that even the bare minimum is important in the face of all the hatred. That revelation felt like such a white perspective that I looked up the race of the author at that point. I would suggest the author read MLK’s “Letter from a Birmingham City Jail” and rethink his stance on the value of the white moderate.
3) there were so. Many. Damn. Characters. Too many storylines to get invested in them all and it took way too long for them all to converge and then when they did it was barely a climax. The ending felt rushed and everything leading up to it felt unnecessarily complex.
Overall this book was a miss for me. I enjoy a story which examines humanity and our relationships to one another, but this one fell flat due to not having enough time with any one character. I didn’t connect to the cast and ultimately wasn’t invested in the outcome of their myriad storylines.
1) sooo much Covid/2020 election talk. Way too soon for me, if I had known I wouldn’t have picked up this book.
2) white men probably shouldn’t write from the perspective of people of color. There’s a scene where a Black activist thinks about his white friend, a man who does the bare minimum to soothe his white guilt, and concludes that even the bare minimum is important in the face of all the hatred. That revelation felt like such a white perspective that I looked up the race of the author at that point. I would suggest the author read MLK’s “Letter from a Birmingham City Jail” and rethink his stance on the value of the white moderate.
3) there were so. Many. Damn. Characters. Too many storylines to get invested in them all and it took way too long for them all to converge and then when they did it was barely a climax. The ending felt rushed and everything leading up to it felt unnecessarily complex.
Overall this book was a miss for me. I enjoy a story which examines humanity and our relationships to one another, but this one fell flat due to not having enough time with any one character. I didn’t connect to the cast and ultimately wasn’t invested in the outcome of their myriad storylines.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, and Pandemic/Epidemic
starklinqs's review
3.5
3.5 or 3.6/5, if I'm really going to split hairs on here.
I really did enjoy the vast majority of the book, but where it falters is unfortunately on its very hook. A large portion of the book is backstory for our mains. I enjoyed reading most of it, but by the time I was halfway through the book I still hadn't gotten to the entire premise of the book. When the book finally got to the premise, it was incredibly rushed, and to be honest, confusing. I still don't understand why Tina did what she did or the idea behind it, and the epilogue didn't really clear things up for me.
I would love to give this book a 4/5. I think the writing is really engaging and the characters were interesting to read about, but when your entire premise in this story is about how these characters are connected and about this big event and then the story just doesn't really deliver on that end, it knocks it down a bit. It was a story I really enjoyed with a very lackluster ending. I do think that I would have enjoyed the backstories as a flashback instead - a way to focus on each character and their thoughts during the event, while also allowing us to learn more about them and what makes them who they are. I still am interested in reading the author's other books, as I was into the writing for the most part, but it's a bit of a bummer that this book was so promising in its building and then ended in a lackluster way.
I really did enjoy the vast majority of the book, but where it falters is unfortunately on its very hook. A large portion of the book is backstory for our mains. I enjoyed reading most of it, but by the time I was halfway through the book I still hadn't gotten to the entire premise of the book. When the book finally got to the premise, it was incredibly rushed, and to be honest, confusing. I still don't understand why Tina did what she did or the idea behind it, and the epilogue didn't really clear things up for me.
I would love to give this book a 4/5. I think the writing is really engaging and the characters were interesting to read about, but when your entire premise in this story is about how these characters are connected and about this big event and then the story just doesn't really deliver on that end, it knocks it down a bit. It was a story I really enjoyed with a very lackluster ending. I do think that I would have enjoyed the backstories as a flashback instead - a way to focus on each character and their thoughts during the event, while also allowing us to learn more about them and what makes them who they are. I still am interested in reading the author's other books, as I was into the writing for the most part, but it's a bit of a bummer that this book was so promising in its building and then ended in a lackluster way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Infidelity, Mental illness, and Xenophobia